Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 December 2021
233. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on the measures in place to monitor the health and working conditions in meat processing plants to prevent further clusters of Covid-19. [62387/21]
View answerIn the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, primary responsibility for public health policy and implementation rests with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive (HSE). Statutory responsibility for health and safety in the workplace rests with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). Responsibility for the Health and Safety of employees lies with the management of each establishment.
The statutory responsibility of my Department is to ensure that Food Business Operators (FBOs) within these premises operate in compliance with the EU’s food hygiene legislation, animal and plant health rules and animal welfare standards. In addition to this statutory role in meat plants, my Department continues to provide support, as required, to the HSE and the HSA at local and national level, including monitoring that FBOs are operating their premises in accordance with HSE guidance on COVID-19 prevention and control measure.
My Department continues to support the HSE in implementing a programme of serial testing of workers at larger food plants and other businesses. The first cycle of PCR serial testing (i.e. 4 weeks of weekly testing) at food production facilities began on 14th September 2020 and a further fourteen cycles have been completed to date. Approximately 267,000 tests were carried out up to the end of Cycle 15 with an overall positivity rate of 0.72%.
Additionally, my Department has led and encouraged the rollout of rapid antigen detection testing (RADT) at meat processing plants, as a risk mitigation measure. To date (i.e. the week ending 10 December 2021), 49 FBO sites had been supplied with RADT test kits and 356 workers have tested positive.
Finally, my Department is also continuing to participate in a Science Foundation Ireland research project – ‘Understanding and Preventing COVID-19 in Meat Processing Plants’ - prepared for the future (UPCOM)’. This project has been extended to mid-2022. During Winter 2021/2022, the UPCOM team will explore different ways of enhancing surveillance for respiratory infections in meat plant workers and will evaluate the efficacy of different options to reduce the risk of long-distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within meat plants.
Taken together, these measures underline the continuing commitment and contribution of my Department to the health and safety of workers in meat plants
